Applied Mathematics

Why choose applied mathematics at North Central College?

Applied mathematicians use techniques like mathematical modeling to solve practical problems. This major will prepare you for careers in the sciences, business, economics, finance and insurance—careers that require high-level statistical analysis and computation to solve problems, make decisions, and conduct research and analysis. Mathematical modeling can be used to predict transmission rates of diseases, streamline manufacturing and project passenger demand to produce flight schedules for airlines. North Central’s mathematics professors develop strong relationships with their students and foster an open and encouraging learning environment throughout the department.

You can also:

Combine majors and elective courses across various academic fields.
Conduct research with your professors as early as your first year on campus.
Attend local, regional and national professional conferences.
Gain more experience by interning in the Naperville area and Chicago.
Join the mathematics honor society Pi Mu Epsilon.

Heather Carlson ’91 delivers keynote address at Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research

Heather Carlson '91 delivered the keynote address at North Central College’s 15th annual Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research.

2012 Goldwater Scholar, Maria Gommel

Math major Maria Gommel ’13 joins the ranks of Goldwater Scholars

Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams to address North Central College Commencement

Aaron Williams, director of the Peace Corps, will deliver the address June 9 at the 147th Commencement ceremony of North Central College.

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Careers

Recent graduates in applied mathematics include:

Bioinformatics
Data mining
Materials science
Computer animation and digital imaging
Finance and economics
Climatology

Graduate Schools

Recent graduates were accepted at:

Valparaiso University

Feature

Michelle Condie

Applied mathematics major

Michelle investigated all that North Central’s math department had to offer before she declared her major. “Having a close relationship with my professors helped me find just what I was looking for,” she recalls. “Professor (Linda) Gao told me about the applied math major and I realized that’s what I needed for working in a business setting.”

Michelle appreciates the major’s focus on solving real-life problems and looks forward to studying econometrics, which uses statistical methods and empirical data to test economic models. “Applied math is perfect for me,” she says. “Plus I can still consider graduate school in statistics or economics down the road,” she says.

Feature

C.J. Halverson

Applied Mathematics

C.J. Halverson started his career at North Central planning to double-major in chemistry and physics. He earned a Dr. Robert H. Good Scholarship for physics majors, one of many scholarships available to North Central students.

As a freshman, C.J. found he was “terrible in the chem lab” and he loved problem-solving in physics. So he changed his second major from chemistry to applied mathematics.

In his sophomore year, C.J. took two classes with less than seven students. He likes that professors in small classes devote personal attention to students.

“You can talk to your professors any time, even if you don’t have that professor for a current class,” he says. “The professors work with you to make sure you have what you need for the class.”

C.J. enjoyed working as a lab assistant during the College’s Summer Undergraduate Research Colloquium and looks forward to conducting summer research with a professor.

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